Evansville City Council OKs creation of land bank

Evansville's land bank to battle blight is moving forward after the City Council approved its creation Monday.

The Evansville Land Bank Corp. will take over blighted, vacant properties and lots that weren't sold at Vanderburgh County's annual tax sale and 'bank' them. Most of the properties will be demolished. The idea is to find a development partner to take over the land to build new housing and get the properties back on the tax rolls. The program could lead to hundreds of demolitions of vacant and blighted structures every year for the next four years.

The City Council passed the ordinance unanimously.

City Councilman Dan McGinn, R-1st Ward, said during Monday's meeting he was thrilled to see the city establish the program.

Adams was the sole no vote on funding the first year of the land bank in May. He argued the city's Riverboat Fund, which is used for buying fire engines, police cars and other capital projects, shouldn't be used to fund the land bank. Adams also praised the monthly reports the council will receive on the program.

The city budgeted $1.7 million for the land bank for 2016. City officials expect the program to cost up to $2 million every year for the next four years, but that requires annual City Council approval.

The city already has a quasi-land bank through the Evansville Brownfields Corp., which will act as a full-fledged land bank as the new program is formed. However, there are differences between the two. The new land bank is subject to the state's open records and meetings laws, meaning the public has greater access to what the land bank is doing.

The new organization will also be subject to the State Board of Accounts audits, which Brownfields is not.

The ordinance passed Wednesday outlines the nine-person board of directors and who gets to appoint people to the board.

The City Council has three appointments to the board, as does the mayor. The Vanderburgh County treasurer gets one appointment. All seven appointments have to be city residents.

The board then selects two more members, who don't have to be city residents but have to live in the county.

There is no deadline to appoint members to the land bank's board of directors.

The City Council also approved an agreement that gives the Department of Metropolitan Development management control over the organization.

City officials expect to have nearly 120 structures demolished this year — the land bank has already acquired 72 parcels, and it set to receive another 180 from Vanderburgh County Commissioners next month.

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